This is throwing the baby out with the bath water. The problems aren’t with mobile computing, but with social media and free-to-play games abusing the science of addiction to create psychological dependencies in users (and children are especially vulnerable to this). Even the timing of your notifications can and are used to manipulate you.
They need to ban these dopemine toys for adults let alone children
Recent news suggests that the ones who should be banned from smartphones are MPs.
Recent newsEverything suggests that the ones who should be bannedfrom smartphonesare MPs.FTFY
Teaching kids about responsible use of smartphones and social media, and using the available parental controls, is the right way to go about making sure kids are safe.
Trying to stop kids from getting their hands on smartphones is a laughable policy idea. Social media is ubiquitous with modern day youth, they will find a way to access it one way or another.
That, and regulating how social media companies can operate their platforms to reduce addictive behaviors.
I can’t believe that parents prefer to wait for legislation to ban smartphones instead of refusing to buy one for their offspring. I get the network effect of having all the other kids with phones but at the same time if that is the only motivation for buying one for your kid then you must not care that much about their dangers.
I think the thing I’ve seen oft repeated is that if all the other kids have phones too, by depriving your child of one, you’re essentially dooming them to being an outcast of their peers because most socialising happens via the phone.
Given the amount of parents who are happy to buy their kids alcohol and GTA videogames I wonder if the social pressure would vanish overnight.
Oh absolutely not, it would probably need to be a generational change in order for it to stand a chance of being effective, Pandora’s box is already open for the current generation of kids
I get the network effect of having all the other kids with phones.
I don’t think the network effect is the only factor to consider here. Kids are at real risk of social ostracization and bullying by their peers if they do not have a smartphone. And that’s dangeous in of itself.
I’m not sure if the dangers of being ostricised and bullied are more significant than the dangers presented by owning a smartphone. Either way, I don’t think it’s a simple decision for a parent to make.
I think that qualifies as being a severe network effect. Point taken though. In those cases would recommend the parents spend 5 minutes configuring the parental controls before handing the phone over.
Is this some ploy to drum up an excuse for losing the upcoming election?
Sounds like they are just chucking any shit policies at the wall to see what sticks
Not at all enforcable.
So of course they’ll do it.
LOL as if that’s gonna stop them from owning smartphones, teenagers don’t even have that much money to even pay for it to begin with cuz they’re school kids, so it’s always the parents that pay for it anyways. This proposed legalisation is literally not going to do anything.
Exactly. How many kids do they think are going to the shops alone to buy phones?
"You there, with the smartphone! Let’s see some papers and a loicence!
Of course they are, they’re scared they’re even losing the vote of the “kids these days…” tory core so they’re thrashing about like a fish out of water trying desperately to not lose them… There’s been stories like this for months now and very little to come from most of them
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Ministers are considering banning the sale of smartphones to children under the age of 16 after a number of polls have shown significant public support for such a curb.
The government issued guidance on the use of mobile phones in English schools two months ago, but other curbs are said to have been considered to better protect children after a number of campaigns.
Esther Ghey, the mother of 16-year-old Brianna, who was murdered last year, has been campaigning for an age limit for smartphone usage and stricter controls on access to social media apps.
One Tory government source described the idea as “out of touch”, noting: “It’s not the government’s role to step in and microparent; we’re meant to make parents more aware of the powers they have like restrictions on websites, apps and even the use of parental control apps.”
Rishi Sunak is already braced for a backlash to his plan to ban the next generation from being able to buy cigarettes.
Anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 – in effect anyone who is 14 or younger now – will not legally be able to buy cigarettes in England during their lives as the smoking age is raised by one year every year, subject to MPs’ approval, under the plans first reported in the Guardian.
The original article contains 478 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 54%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
